


Pumpkin Spice

by geekyyoungblood



Series: Huxloween 2016 [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Huxloween, M/M, i will probably write a sequel to this later, pumpkin spiced lattes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 13:29:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8210282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekyyoungblood/pseuds/geekyyoungblood
Summary: In fact, Kylo’s relationship with Hux - if you could even call it a relationship - was like a fucking metaphor for his relationship with pumpkin spiced latte. They were both things that Kylo hated passionately, but couldn’t help but like anyway.(aka the shitty half-finished coffee shop au that i wrote for day 1 of huxloween)





	

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to clarify that I’m aware of the fact that this fic sucks. I finished it literally five minutes before I posted the link for the first time last night, I was super stressed, it was 10:54 pm where I lived and I had nothing left to lose. When I’m pressured into writing something nothing can save the result from sucking. The rest of my Huxloween fics will be a bit shorter than this one, but they will be better, and I will not be writing them while falling asleep across my keyboard.  
> And don’t worry, I will (probably) write more of this in the future. I just decided to save the fic from further damage and leave it where I did. Please forgive me. Anyway, thank you for reading, and take care!

Kylo hated fall.

Then again, he hated a lot of things. He (more or less) hated the rest of the year too. He just happened to be that kind of person.

Fall was its own kind of hell, though. And no, it was not the weather that made him think so - in fact, the weather was the only thing he actually liked about fall. The cold air meant he could finally wear his regular outfit that consisted of something along the lines of black skinny jeans, a band shirt and a black hoodie without getting weird looks from strangers and sweating enough to make people literally avoid him on the street because he smelled so bad (maybe that was just his imagination, though).

No, the thing that Kylo Ren absolutely loathed about fall was the way everyone around him reacted to it. Even though most people didn’t hesitate to complain about the weather on a regular basis, they still embraced the Fall Aesthetic with an enthusiasm that never failed to make Kylo throw up in his mouth.

People wore clothes in various shades of grey, brown and dark red and wrapped themselves up in knitted scarves. Going apple picking and jumping in leaf piles suddenly became socially acceptable. Photos of people and their friends, family members and pets surrounded by multicolored leaves completely flooded every single social media in existence, alongside endless pictures of pumpkins and coffee mugs, and Kylo hated all of it.

The pumpkins, in a way, were the biggest problem. To be more precise, pumpkin spice was the biggest problem. It was everywhere, seriously, was it even possible to find anything during fall season that was not pumpkin spiced? There were pumpkin spiced cookies, pumpkin spiced cereal, pumpkin spiced granola bars, pumpkin spiced tortilla chips (yes, that was actually a thing). And, of course, there were the pumpkin spiced lattes.

Kylo hated the pumpkin spiced lattes the most. Partly because everyone constantly talked about them and posted photos of them on Instagram, but mostly because they tasted so damn good. He hated Phasma for talking him into trying one, because now he was addicted. And being addicted to the very thing that symbolized everything he hated about fall sucked.

He also hated Phasma for taking him to one particular coffee shop that was located just a couple of streets from the office where they both worked. That was where she had bought him the pumpkin spiced latte that had become the gateway drug to his addiction. He had ended up becoming addicted not only to pumpkin spiced lattes, but to the entire coffee shop as well.

It was called Takodana Café (Kylo had no idea what the word Takodana actually meant, and he hadn’t bothered to ask anyone about it). It was a small, private owned coffee shop that didn’t belong to any of the big companies, which allowed Kylo to maintain his policy of being as non-mainstream as possible. It was cozy; not too dark and not too bright, with comfy chairs and a bunch of framed photos of the staff members hanging on the pastel pink walls, the coffee was amazing in a way that made you feel like your soul went to heaven and then returned to your body as you drank it, and everything on the menu was super cheap. Also, the fact that it was located so close to the office gave Kylo the perfect opportunity to stop by every morning and pick up coffee on his way to work.

In short, it was perfect, and there should be no reason for him whatsoever to complain about it*. But there was one problem that was just as big as his pumpkin spiced latte addiction, maybe even bigger. The problem’s name was Hux.

Hux was one of the baristas at Takodana Café, and the only staff member there that Kylo couldn’t stand. The rest of them were nice - Kylo had been visiting this coffee shop on a regular basis for almost a year now, so he knew who all the baristas were, and they knew who he was. It had gotten to the point where they knew his name and exactly what kind of coffee he always wanted - a large caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso, when it wasn’t pumpkin spice season - and he had, just from observing them, learned all of their names and what their personalities were like.

There was Rey, a british girl in her early twenties who always wore her hair in a strange hairdo that consisted of three buns. She seemed to be the kind of person who wasn’t entirely comfortable around strangers, but she was nice.

Then there was Finn, who was also in his early twenties. He was very extroverted and loved talking to people - he always asked Kylo about his plans for the day while making the coffee (the answer to that question was usually the same; work, then TV, then sleep. Kylo Ren’s life wasn’t particularly interesting). He and Rey seemed to be very good friends; whenever they were on the same shift they would always exchange jokes and sarcastic remarks while working.

There was Poe, a very attractive, dark-haired man in his late twenties or early thirties who always seemed to be flirting with his customers (Kylo could never tell whether it was intentional or not). Also, he and Finn seemed to either have a thing or want to have a thing, judging by the way they acted around and talked to each other. And then there was the jacket. Kylo had seen the same jacket on both of them multiple times, and he had no idea which one of them actually owned it.

There was Maz, the incredibly short, elderly woman who owned the place. She seemed to enjoy checking on the place now and then, even though she never worked behind the counter herself.

And finally, there was Hux. Who happened to be absolutely gorgeous.

He had amazing, short, red hair that Kylo definitely wouldn’t mind running his fingers through; he had a british accent that was more attractive than any other accent Kylo had ever heard; he was pretty enough to make anyone, regardless of their sexuality, swoon on sight. And that was great. It’s always nice to have a bit of eye candy on your way to work. The problem was that as a person, Hux was absolutely unbearable.

In fact, Kylo’s relationship with Hux - if you could even call it a relationship - was like a fucking metaphor for his relationship with pumpkin spiced latte. They were both things that Kylo hated passionately, but couldn’t help but like anyway.

Every single time Kylo walked through the door of the coffee shop and Hux was behind the counter Hux practically had the words “oh no” written all over his face. The only times Kylo had actually seen Hux smile - and he had a beautiful smile - was during the few seconds before he realized that Kylo was there, because he seemed physically unable to smile while Kylo was in the same room as him. Also, he constantly snarled at him. One day, maybe two months after Kylo started visiting Takodana Café on a regular basis, when Kylo opened his mouth to make his order, Hux had spat “Large caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso, I know, it’s not like you ever order anything else” and turned around to start making the coffee. He had also made a habit out of telling Kylo to “piss off” after giving him his coffee.

It was hard not to take it personally, because Kylo had never seen him act that way around anyone else. Sure, he seemed to be kind of a loner, but he was always nice to the other baristas, and Phasma and the other customers too; in short, every person whose name wasn’t Kylo Ren. And there was no logical explanation as to why he was like that. Sure, there was that incident the first time Hux took Kylo’s order and Kylo accidentally spilled his coffee on him, but that was almost a year ago. Sure, Hux had been kind of pissed when it happened (okay, really pissed) but he couldn’t possibly still be holding a grudge towards Kylo for that, could he?

He also didn’t understand how Hux hadn’t lost his job over this. It should be considered bad for the business. He had seen Maz having what looked like a serious conversation with Hux in the back of the coffee shop once, and he was pretty sure he heard her mention his name, but Hux had not changed his behaviour at all, and he still hadn’t lost his job. On the other hand, he was nice to most customers, and Maz had probably decided by now that one grumpy barista wasn’t going to keep Kylo from going to this particular coffee shop.

And she was right, it wasn’t. If nothing else, Kylo was going to stick around just because he was so damn stubborn and wouldn’t let Hux win this fight. He had chosen a long time ago to see the fact that he could annoy Hux by just being in the same room as him as an advantage. And Takodana Café had such great coffee it was worth ordering it from Hux a couple of days a week. (He kept telling himself that the fact that he kind of had a crush on Hux wasn’t part of the reason why he kept visiting the coffee shop. Definitely not.)

Needless to say, Kylo’s life wasn’t at its greatest at the moment. But on the bright side, it was October, and pumpkin spice latte season had officially begun. Then again, it was kind of humiliating to give in to the fall aesthetic that he always complained about, but drinking a pumpkin spiced latte always made him a bit happier. Which he really needed on the days when he had to order from Hux. That man could ruin a good morning in less than two seconds.

This particular morning, however, he was lucky. When he and Phasma walked into (c/s/n) Finn was behind the counter. Thank god. Kylo had actually been having a fairly good morning so far, and he didn’t feel like getting it ruined.

Although, when he walked over to the counter to make his order, Finn, instead of asking him what he wanted, leaned across the counter and said in a hushed voice “We need to talk.”

Kylo blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Come with me.” Finn walked out from behind the counter and made his way* across the room to a table in the corner right next to the door. Kylo followed him, sitting down across from him*. Phasma just stood next to the table, looking as confused as Kylo felt.

“Alright, here’s the thing” Finn said. “Hux has a crush on you.”

“I’m sorry… What?”

“Or, well. At least I’m pretty sure he does. But I mean, come on, the way he acts around you. He’s never like that with anyone else. And he talks to me and the others about you all the time. Keeps saying you’re horrible.”

“Really? Wow. What a child.” Kylo did his best not to show Finn how excited this made him. Hell, he tried not to admit it to himself. Sure, he found Hux attractive. That didn’t mean he wanted to date him.

“Yeah, I know. But look; we’ve been working together for more than a year. I know him. And I know he doesn’t normally hold grudges towards people like this. And when he doesn’t like someone he just ignores them. He definitely doesn’t talk to everyone he knows about them. There’s no other logical explanation.”

“So you think the reason he starts acting like an asshole the moment I walk into the room is because… He likes me?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re telling me this because..?”

“He’s unbearable. He’s been like this ever since you started coming here, and he won’t stop. So we figured that…”

“We?”

“Me, Rey and Poe. Now please let me finish. We figured that if you talk to Hux about this he might stop acting like this. And the thing is, there are only two options here, right? Either you like him back, or you don’t. So you can either confess your feelings to him* and then the two of you can go on a date or whatever. Or you make it clear that you aren’t interested. That’s up to you. But please, for the sake of everyone’s sanity, do something.”

Finn almost looked desperate. Kylo would have found it amusing if is heart hadn’t been beating so hard it felt like it would jump out of his chest. Of course, Phasma also took this moment to lean in over his shoulder and say;

“Oh, he likes him back. He won’t shut up about him.”

“Phasma, will you kindly piss off?” Kylo said in his sweetest voice. Then he turned back to Finn.

“Alright, I’ll talk to him. Can I have my coffee first, though? I’m gonna be late for work.”

Finn looked relieved. “Of course.” He stood, then froze. “Do you mind stopping by this afternoon, though? Hux will be here from lunchtime until we close.”

“Sure.”

“Great!” Finn walked back to the counter, and Kylo followed him, a bit lighter in his step than he had been before. Phasma just smirked.

“Shut up” Kylo said as he walked past her.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You better not.”


End file.
